The most successful season Plymouth's varsity baseball team ever had came to an unceremonious halt Saturday at the hands of the No. 1 team in the state.

Spotting host Saline two runs in the top of the first inning did not bode well for the Wildcats' chances in the Division 1 regional final and the Hornets — behind the outstanding pitching of future Michigan Wolverine Ricky Karcher — went on to post a 7-0 victory.

"We made a few mistakes, but honestly if you score zero runs you're not going to win, whether you make no mistakes or a ton of them," Plymouth head coach Jason Crain said. "So, it just comes down to a great pitcher on the mound. He did a great job and they hit it like not many teams.

"That showed today, they put the pressure on, they put the pressure on defensively, offensively, it's someplace we need to get to."

Saline had only lost two games all season going into the day, and the path looked clear for the Hornets to capture a regional title. But the Hornets suffered a crushing upset later Saturday when Taylor Kennedy pitcher Cody Serafin blanked them in the regional final, 1-0.

Plymouth managed just three hits in the game, a first-inning single by senior Patrick Downing, a double to left in the third by junior Pete Carravallah and junior Kyle Wolter's single in the fifth.

Cruise control

Karcher, touching the mid-to-high-80s with his fastball, fanned six and rarely was in trouble.

"He was throwing a lot of fastballs, probably one of the fastest pitchers we've ever seen," Downing said. "We knew he had a curveball and a changeup, but the fastball was the main pitch he went to every single time.

"They're really known for their baseball program. They can hit the heck out of the ball, and that's just what we need to do, too. We just couldn't do it today."

Diving back to first base during the fifth inning of Saturday’s D1 regional semifinal is Plymouth’s Kyle Wolter.(Photo: MICHAEL VASILNEK)

The Hornets (35-3) racked up seven hits over the first two innings against Plymouth junior starter Josh Sulak, as Saline built a quick 4-0 lead.

It was a 5-0 spread in the third when Jacob Finkbeiner's sacrifice fly scored Josh Smith, who reached on a dropped infield pop-up.

"He (Sulak) threw strikes, he didn't walk anyone, he got ahead of batters," Crain said. "And mistakes led to some of those runs. Out of the five they got early they probably earned two or three of them."

Saline added single runs in the fifth and sixth on an error and a wild pitch, respectively.

Plymouth junior Josh Sulak was the starting pitcher Saturday against Saline. He didn’t get much help.(Photo: MICHAEL VASILNEK)

Despite the way the season concluded, Downing (who will play next season at Concordia University) said it was a great year to be on the squad.

"We made it farther than we did last year and all the years before," Downing said. "It was the first time we won the district, so that was nice. I had a lot of fun."

Praise for seniors

Meanwhile, Crain praised his team, especially the dozen seniors who helped Plymouth win a school-tying 27 games and capture division and district titles along the way.

"We had 12 seniors and they all played an important role, whether they played a lot in the field or not," Crain said. "They all had spots where they made important contributions on the field and certainly leadership off the field was a big one for our senior group.

"This program's been through a lot of adversity the last handful of years, and they've been a part of all of it. So to have them play through that adversity and win 52 ballgames in two years it's a credit to them."

Downing, Seth Hubbard, Kevin Anthony, Andrew Jossey, Jared Merandi and Andrew Hejka were the seniors who made the most impact on the field.

But the other seniors, John Kochan, Cory Burnette, Nolan Gerou, Cameron Anstess, Alex Zoltowski and Dakota Lynn, all were solid within their roles whenever Crain called upon them.

Saturday’s loss was the end of the line for a dozen Plymouth seniors, including Jared Merandi (No. 4).(Photo: MICHAEL VASILNEK)

Crain, finishing his second season at the helm, now wants to see the Wildcats take the next step toward being the kind of powerhouse Saline is (Saturday's loss to Kennedy notwithstanding).

"It's a building block," Crain added. "Our seniors have done a great job building what we're going to try to do every single year and go beyond, it's a culture. You have to expect to win games like this. We're getting there.

"They (the Hornets) are on it every single pitch. I've said this to the boys before, we're on it every single at-bat, they're on it every single pitch. And that's the difference, that's where we need to be."